Peter in Magicland

Peter in Magicland: A Fantastic Journey (German: Peterchens Mondfahrt) is a 1990 German animated children's fantasy film, based on Gerdt von Bassewitz's 1915 book Little Peter's Journey to the Moon. The film was released on 29 November 1990 in Germany.

Peter in Magicland
Directed byWolfgang Urchs
Written by
  • Alexander Kekulé
  • Wolfgang Urchs
Based onLittle Peter's Journey to the Moon by Gerdt von Bassewitz
Starring
Narrated by
  • Arne Elsholtz (German)
  • William Roberts (English)
Edited byGisela Haller
Music byKlaus Doldinger
Production
companies
Release date
  • 29 November 1990 (1990-11-29)
Running time
80 minutes (cut version)
125 minutes (five-part version)
CountryWest Germany
LanguageGerman

Plot

One night, siblings Peter and Annabelle are woken up by a noise in their bedroom that sounds like music. Upon investigating, they find the source: a beetle playing on his violin. The beetle introduces himself as Mr. Buzzworthy, the 5th descendant from the generations of Buzzworthys, who then tells them his tragic story: two hundred years ago, his great-great-great-grandfather was resting on a birch, when an evil giant (Moon Man) chopped the tree down and took it away, also taking the beetle's sixth leg (lower left arm) with him. As a consequence, all of the generations were born only with five legs. Shortly after, the beetle is visited by a Night Fairy, who tells him that she punished the giant by banishing him to the moon along with the tree. When the beetle realizes that his leg is missing, the Fairy advises him to search for two kind children who never hurt anyone and are brave enough for a dangerous journey to the moon.

Upon hearing the story, the children agree to help him retrieve his leg. After teaching the children how to fly and receiving an approval from three official beetles, they set off towards the sky. After evading some of the mischievous Weather Makers, they reach Sandman, a wizard whose job is to make children fall asleep. Explaining the situation to him, he agrees to take them to the Night Fairy's castle in a sleigh pulled by butterflies. After evading the Makers again and getting their sleigh unstuck while on Milky Way, they finally reach the castle, where a banquet among the Makers is taking place. Reminding the Fairy of her promise, she gives them a Giant Polar Bear to help them get to the Moon, telling them that if anything, the Makers will help them in their journey.

Reaching the Moon, they go through the Christmas and Easter worlds to find some snack for the Bear, before continuing on their journey. After fending off some hostile wolves, they arrive at a cannon which shoots Peter, Annabelle and Mr. Buzzworthy to the top of the mountain, where the tree with the beetle's leg stands. They encounter the Moon Man himself, and the Makers come to the children's aid, eventually defeating him by freezing him. Peter removes the leg from the tree and attaches it back to Mr. Buzzworthy, who is now overjoyed at having his long-lost leg back. When the sun rises, the ice from the Moon Man melts and he tries to attack them, but they escape him by flying into a chimney that wakes them up, revealing it all to be a dream. After their mother checks on them (who looks similar to the Night Fairy), they find a beetle resting on their windowsill, who has all of his six legs. The beetle then flies away, while Peter and Annabelle wonder if they will ever fly with him again.

Cast

Character[1] Original German English dub[1]
PeterAndré SchmidtsdorfChristopher Milnes
AnnabelleNathalie del CastilloBecky Smith
Mr. BuzzworthyManfred LichtenfeldPeter Whitman
SandmanFriedrich W. BauschultePeter Hawkins
Night Fairy / MotherDagmar HellerLiza Ross
Mother CloudDoris JensenEve Karpf
Gingerbread ManWilli RoebkeStephen Tate
Storm GiantFritz von HardenbergWilliam Roberts
Moon ManWolfgang HessDouglas Blackwell
Father ChristmasWalter ReicheltJohn Bull
Sun GoddessNathalie del CastilloUn­known
Rain GodUdo WachtveitlUn­known
Milky Way ManMichael HabeckUn­known
Lightning GoddessMonika JohnUn­known
Thunder GodManfred ErdmannUn­known
Wind GoddessMartina DunckerUn­known
Water GodArne ElsholtzUn­known
Ice GodManfred ErdmannUn­known

Release

An 80-minute cut of the film was initially widely released as a full-length feature and a five-part miniseries.[2] The uncut version first aired in December 1992 on ZDF.[3]

References

  1. English credits on YouTube
  2. English promo on YouTube
  3. "Peterchens Mondfahrt". Wunschliste.de. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
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